Cooking – The Pioneer Womanhttps://thepioneerwoman.com
Plowing through Life in the Country...One Calf Nut at a Time
Thu, 21 Mar 2019 14:54:55 +0000 en-US
hourly
1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.1.1https://thepioneerwoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-favicon.png?w=32Cooking – The Pioneer Womanhttps://thepioneerwoman.com
3232156903075pwcookshttps://feedburner.google.comCreamy Roasted Red Pepper Soup by The Pioneer Womanhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pwcooks/~3/F7P8hVIzQn4/
https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/creamy-roasted-red-pepper-soup/#respondTue, 19 Mar 2019 15:54:27 +0000http://thepioneerwoman.com/?post_type=cooking&p=101129Roasted red peppers are my favorite pantry item; well, they’re up there alongside jars of good marinara sauce. You can turn a jar or two of roasted red peppers into so many different recipes, from soups to sauces to panini to dips. The flavor is mild and slightly sweet, and I’m always amazed at how much I love them. This soup boasts two whole jars of the beauties, and it’s perfect for lunch or dinner.

Plus, it’s purty. You’ll love it!

(Side note: Hi, friends! *Waving*…)

In a Dutch oven, melt the olive oil and butter over medium heat.

Add the onions and garlic…

Then add the oregano…

And stir, cooking the onions and garlic for about 3 minutes.

Add a diced russet potato (this is optional; it helps with the texture, but you can leave it out if you’re wanting to cut carbs)…

And 2 jars of roasted red peppers that have been sliced. Look at those little blackened bits. Flavah!

Stir and cook the potatoes and red bell peppers for about 3 more minutes.

Add the tomato paste…

And stir to combine, letting it cook for a couple of minutes.

Sprinkle in the salt and pepper and turn up the heat to medium-high.

Pour in the white wine, then stir and let it start to cook.

Then pour in some vegetable or chicken stock!

Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the potatoes are very tender, about 18-20 minutes.

Now it’s time to puree the soup, which releases all the amazing flavor of the peppers and makes the potatoes just become a part of the mix.

Keep going until it gets to the texture you like.

This is the texture I like!

Now it just needs cream. I add about a half a cup, or up to 5 gallons. Just kidding about the 5 gallon part, but my point is that if you wanna add more cream, you should live the life you were born to live and just add it.

And truth be told, I probably added 3/4 cup of cream.

Okay, a cup.

Stir it to combine and let the cream warm up for a couple of minutes.

Finally, add a little red wine vinegar and cook for another minutes. Done!

Enjoy, friends! It’s still cool in some areas, so this soup is just perfect for the weather.

]]>https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/creamy-roasted-red-pepper-soup/feed/0101129https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/creamy-roasted-red-pepper-soup/Mini Turtle Cheesecakes by The Pioneer Womanhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pwcooks/~3/s8diEQGBZlE/
https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/mini-turtle-cheesecakes/#respondWed, 28 Nov 2018 14:16:33 +0000http://thepioneerwoman.com/?post_type=cooking&p=100270I love cheesecake, but sometimes I can’t be bothered to make a big, honking full-sized one. I don’t know what the mental block is, but if I have the idea “Hey! I think I’ll make a cheesecake!” I immediately get really tired and want to get back in bed. I think it’s partly to do with the fact that a full-sized cheesecake is a living, breathing thing, and while I can usually avoid winding up with a big crack down the middle, sometimes a cheesecake does what it wants to do. In addition, a full-sized cheesecake takes so long to chill properly, and by the time you can actually cut a slice and enjoy it, you have now aged 27 years.

As I said, I just want to get back in bed.

So mini cheesecakes are where I live! They’re simpler, provide more immediate gratification (relatively speaking) and you can freeze them and just pull out what you need when you need it.

And they don’t make me tired. Sold!

First, make the chocolate cookie crust. Add chocolate graham crackers to a food processor. (Or you can use Oreos!)

Add a little sugar…

Then pulse the crumbs…

Until they’re really fine.

Keep pulsing while you drizzle in melted butter.

This makes the crumbs nice and moist.

Oh, and buttery!

Line a couple of muffin pans with paper cups, then add crumbs to each one. You need about 2 tablespoons of crumbs in each cup.

Use your fangers or the bottom of a 1/4 cup measure to pack them tightly in the cups.

Now just set these aside; no need to bake ’em!

Next up: Make the cream cheese filling! That’s softened cream cheese…

Sugar…

And eggs.

Oh! And vanilla!

Beat this until it’s totally smooth…

Then (this is where things really go off the rails) drizzle in some jarred salted caramel. (If you can’t find salted caramel sauce, you can just use regular caramel sauce with a little salt added.)

Mix this in, scraping the sides of the bowl and trying really hard not to dive in and eat this with a spoon. Just remember everything your mama taught you about patience being a virtue!

Divide the batter equally among the muffin cups.

It should work out to be roughtly 3 tablespoons of batter per cup. Give or take a gallon.

Now put these into a preheated 350 degree oven and bake them for about 15 to 17 minutes, until they’re set.

Let them cool for a bit, then pop the pans into the fridge to chill completely, about 2 hours or so. (Or you can make these and keep them in the fridge overnight if you have a life to go live!)

When the cheesecakes are chilled and you’re ready to finish them, make a luscious and easy ganache: Add chopped semisweet chocolate to a bowl…

Then pour over hot heavy cream…

And let it sit for a couple of minutes.

Once the chocolate has started to soften, start whisking it slowly…

And keep going until the mixture is smooth and perfect. This is a slightly thick ganache; you can add a little more cream if you want it to be a little thinner.

Add a little ganache to the tops of the chilled cheesecakes and spread it to even it out.

Lightly press a pecan half in the center…

Then sprinkle mini chocolate chips all over.

The straw that broke the camel’s back is a little more salted caramel sauce on top! Don’t try to be neat about it; if it gets on the paper cup, great. Life is beautifully messy.

You can freeze these in the finished form, then just pull them out and let them thaw. Or you can chill them in the fridge and serve them later in the day.

Or…

You can just dive in right now.

As you can see, that’s exactly what I did.

Enjoy these, friends!

]]>https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/mini-turtle-cheesecakes/feed/0100270https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/mini-turtle-cheesecakes/Cooking Away by The Pioneer Womanhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pwcooks/~3/uP1TW3CF7_I/
https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/cooking-away/#respondTue, 30 Oct 2018 16:17:07 +0000http://thepioneerwoman.com/?post_type=cooking&p=99998I mentioned on Confessions that I’ve been cooking away on recipes for my next cookbook.

It won’t be out until NEXT October.

It feels great to start ahead of time! This is a new concept for me.

I’m a little afraid it will be like the few time I have started Christmas shopping really early: I wind up getting too much because I have way more time than I’m used to.

Although, that will work out better for the cookbook. If some recipes are good, more recipes are better…and too many recipes are even better!

Just wanted to give you a little peek at some of the things I’ve been cooking. I’m going to try to save the recipes for the cookbook and not post them here ahead of time…

But I’ve never been really good at patience.

(P.S. I’ll be shooting over the next couple of months. I’m taking requests!)

]]>https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/cooking-away/feed/099998https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/cooking-away/Instant Pot Pot Roast by The Pioneer Womanhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pwcooks/~3/aNzFXg92kJI/
https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/instant-pot-pot-roast/#respondMon, 01 Oct 2018 13:21:11 +0000http://thepioneerwoman.com/?post_type=cooking&p=99178(First, can we just reflect on the phrase “Pot Pot” in the title of this post? There’s just no way to avoid it! I tried. Pot Pot!)

Instant Pots are everywhere! They’re a cooking appliance known as a “Multi Cooker” which means it has several different functions, its most notable (and useful, in my experience) being a pressure cooker. I have to say, I was a bit of a latecomer to the Instant Pot world. I am generally resistant to new electronic cooking appliances, because I’m old school and love a dutch oven and an iron skillet. But then my BFF Hyacinth, who is an Instant Pot evangelist, gave me one for my birthday last January. I’ve slowly but surely come to LOVE it, and noticed that I wasn’t ever putting it away in the pantry. So naturally…

The first Instant Pot recipe I want to share is my Perfect Pot Roast, a Drummond family favorite, which cooks in half the time (sometimes even less!)

Here’s how to make it!

I want to sear the roast before I cook it, so I hit the “saute” button. This heats the bottom of the insert.

While it heats up, season a chuck roast with nuttin’ but salt and pepper.

When the Instant Pot is ready to saute, it will say “Hot!”

So pour in a little olive oil…

And throw in the roast!

It’ll start to suh-MOKE and stu-EAM. It gets hot in there! Not quite as hot as a heated cast iron dutch oven…

But definitely hot enough to brown the surface of the meat.

When it’s browned on both sides, remove it to a plate.

Then throw some large chunks of onion right in. These are going to cook down to almost nothingness, so the bigger the pieces, the better.

Move the onions around for a couple of minutes and let them start to brown.

Note: I would normally add carrots to my pot roast! But guess what? Some turkey in my house ate all my carrots. So imagine there are large carrot chunks in this beautiful Instant Pot, kay?

Now’s the time to add in some red wine. A little…or not a little. (Translation: About 1/2 cup.)

Stir the onions, scraping up the bits from the bottom as much as you can. Let the wine cook for a minute or so…

Then pour in beef broth.

I love rosemary and thyme in my pot roast!

Chuck it right in, no need to chop.

Finally, the meat—as well as all the juices on the plate.

Now it’s time to pressure cook! Put the lid on. It locks closed, and you’ll know it’s locked when it emits a lovely little chime.

This is the pressure valve. You want to make sure it’s in the “Sealing” position.

Push the “Manual” button.

Hit the plus sign until it gets to 60 minutes (hard to read in this photo, but it says “60”), then give it a few seconds…and it will start the pressure cooking process! And here’s what happens: After a little time, you will see some steam releasing from the valve in a steady stream. This is normal! The Instant Pot is releasing excess steam as it comes up to temperature. This can take several minutes.

When this little button pops up, as pictured here, that means the unit is sealed and the pressure cooking has begun. From there, it will cook for 60 minutes.

Once the 60 minutes is done, the unit will automatically change to “Keep Warm.” During this time, the Instant Pot will remain locked and will begin naturally releasing pressure on its own. It is best not to disturb the process during this time.

Rather than counting down from 60 as it did when it was pressure cooking, the Instant Pot will now count up the minutes it is taking to release the pressure naturally.

You have the option to use a spoon handle to manually push the valve to “Venting” to manually release the pressure. However, when I have the time, I try to let the Instant Pot release as much pressure naturally as possible before I release the rest of the pressure manually. I think the food is the better for it.

After about 15 minutes of natural release, I’ll often go ahead and release the rest manually so I can get this show on the road!

When the steam is no longer coming out…

The button will pop down, indicating the pressure has been released and it’s safe to open the lid.

And look at that! It looks like a roast that’s been simmering away for 3-4 hours.

The first thing I do is skim off as much fat as I can from the top before disturbing everything and mixing the fat in.

Um…look at this meat! It is absolutely falling apart. It’s a miracle.

Serve big shreds of the pot roast with a side of mashed potatoes and the cooking liquid spooned over the roast. (Imagine this with big chunks of carrots!)

I love my dutch oven. But I’m really loving my Instant Pot, too. It’s been fun to dive in and experiment. I”ll be sharing more recipes in the coming weeks!

]]>https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/instant-pot-pot-roast/feed/099178https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/instant-pot-pot-roast/Food Network and Cookbook Update! by The Pioneer Womanhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pwcooks/~3/M0y0p-JVWwk/
https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/food-network-and-cookbook-update/#respondFri, 31 Aug 2018 12:21:10 +0000http://thepioneerwoman.com/?post_type=cooking&p=98937I’ve been handling Paige’s departure to college pretty well! After the initial weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, I basically just set up camp in my kitchen and have hardly left. It’s my safe zone. My haven. My happy place. Unless the sink is full of dishes, then I want to sell the house.

Oh, and I’m going to see Paige for her birthday today. I think once-a-week visits are a great gameplan! I’m sure Paige would agree with me if she would ever call me back. Ha.

Happy Birthday, Paigie!!!

FOOD NETWORK UPDATE

There is a wacky rumor circulating around Facebook that I have decided to quit my Food Network show and devote my life to selling facial cream. The source of the rumor is an unscrupulous company trying to trick people into buying (you guessed it) facial cream. I have nothing to do with this facial cream (please don’t buy it!), and more importantly: I am not quitting my Food Network show! On the contrary: I’m just getting warmed up, man! The past seven years have just been one gigantic dress rehearsal!

You want facial cream? Head to Walmart, Ulta, Sephora, or a department store. Don’t head to Pioneer Woman. I get my facial cream at Walmart, Ulta, Sephora, and department stores! (Which is to say I rotate a lot. I think it’s healthier for the skin. Hey, maybe I should sell facial cream! Just kidding.)

All this to say, it’s going to be a great fall on my Food Network show, which I ain’t even close to quittin’! From now until the end of the year, you’ll see a brand spanking new episode every Saturday morning at 10 am Eastern/9 am Central. (I think one exception to this is Thanksgiving weekend, but that’s the only break in new episodes.) I’m having so much fun with the new shows these days, and hope you’re loving the recipes!

Between filming, planning my cookbook (more on this below!), the boys’ football schedule, and a few other things I have going on this fall, that hasn’t left much time for me to post step-by-step recipes here on my blog. I still love food-blogging and once I clear a few things off my plate in the next few weeks, I hope I can climb back in the saddle with my fancy boots on.

On the cookbook front, I wanted to thank you SO DARN MUCH for all of your helpful input and suggestions for my next cookbook! As I explained in this post, I really want this next cookbook to go to the next level in terms of being a cookbook you (yes, you!) want to use. And while I already had a sense of a direction or two I wanted to take it, having your specific preferences in mind is really so helpful. Thank you for weighing in.

I love ya!

xoxo,
P-Dub

]]>https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/food-network-and-cookbook-update/feed/098937https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/food-network-and-cookbook-update/Cookbook Contemplation by The Pioneer Womanhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pwcooks/~3/Vovgw0myH7M/
https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/cookbook-contemplation/#respondTue, 10 Jul 2018 11:30:45 +0000http://thepioneerwoman.com/?post_type=cooking&p=98540Have I ever told you that I really like/enjoy/have fun writing cookbooks? I do. Sure, they are all-encompassing and take over my life while they are being written/cooked/photographed/edited, but in the end, I’m always happy that I spent the time making it (hopefully!) what I wanted it to be.

My number one goal when I put out a new cookbook isn’t making sure it has commercial appeal, or winning a culinary award, or appearing on morning shows, or creating a piece of art. Not that there’s anything wrong with that stuff! But it just doesn’t drive me through the knuckle-bleeding process that writing a cookbook entails. Nope, my number one goal when I write a new cookbook is that people will use it and, ultimately, love it. I actually put myself into the shoes of the people who will ultimately thumb through the pages and think “Would I like this? Would I cook this? Would this make me chuckle? Are the ingredients clear? Are the instructions clear? What is the meaning of life? Why do I have fourteen junk drawers in my kitchen right now? Ree, go clean out your closet.”

Sorry. I get distracted. But yes! When I write a cookbook, I want the copies people buy to have stains all over the pages within a couple of weeks. Nothing would make me happier.

MY NEXT COOKBOOK

I have a point! I have a new cookbook coming out next fall (October 2019), and I’m getting ready to jump in and start the fun. But as I’m organizing thoughts and recipe ideas, I wanted to include you in the brainstorm by asking, in a nutshell:

What would you like to see in the next PW cookbook?

I am working with a general direction in mind that I’m excited about, and I’d love to incorporate your thoughts, hopes, and dreams. Ha.

* Would you like a general cookbook with traditional categories such as Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Appetizers, and Desserts, with no specific overarching theme?

* Or would you like a cookbook with a very specific focus: Fast, or Make-Ahead, or Comfort Food, or Slow Cooker/Instant Pot?

* Or would you like a mix?

* Would you like low-carb or slightly lighter versions of classic recipes?

* Or would that knock the earth off its axis?

* Do you want a cookbook that also contains family/ranch photos and stories?

* Or would you rather cut to the chase and use all the pages in the cookbook for recipes and cooking tips?

* Do you like the step-by-step recipes?

* Or would you rather just have the recipe and one big photo per recipe?

* What would be helpful to you in the next PW cookbook?

* Do you like questions?

* Or would you like me to stop asking questions?

Please jump in, weigh in, sock it to me, really let me have it! While I have some of the recipes decided (they are soooo tasty) I can steer the cookbook in whatever direction I want. But while I’m behind the wheel, I’d love for you to help navigate. In return, I will name my next cookbook after you!

Wait, that would be a little tricky. Okay, then how about this: I will be sure to make the next cookbook just what you want!

Because as I said above…nothing would make me happier.

Lots of love,
P-Widdy Dub-Diddy

]]>https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/cookbook-contemplation/feed/098540https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/cookbook-contemplation/Creamy Spinach and Red Pepper Chicken by The Pioneer Womanhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pwcooks/~3/g7u9hzq1QRk/
https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/creamy-spinach-and-red-pepper-chicken/#respondTue, 05 Jun 2018 13:49:25 +0000http://thepioneerwoman.com/?post_type=cooking&p=98201I had the darnedest time figuring out what to call this recipe. I thought of “Creamed Spinach-Stuffed Chicken” but didn’t really like that I had to have a hyphen in the title. I thought of “Creamed Spinach Chicken” but that only told part of the story since there are also roasted red peppers and tomatoes in the sauce. I thought of “Red Pepper and Spinach Stuffed Chicken” but that totally denies the beautiful creaminess of this delightful dish. I thought of switching around the structure and doing “Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Creamed Spinach and Red Peppers” but that was way too literal. I do so much better when I can just keep a recipe title simple—like “Cauliflower Pizza” (not “Roasted Cauliflower Crust Pizza with Manchego, Fried Oregano and a Balsamic Rosemary Reduction. Though dang, that sounds good.)

Anyway, I did my best with the title. But just know that it bugs me!

And anyway…the title doesn’t matter one bit. This is a lovely creamy chicken recipe that may be a tad indulgent on the creamy side of things…but that’s also pretty low on carbs (relatively speaking.)

Dive in! The water’s just fine.

Start with some butter and olive oil in an iron skillet (or heck, any skillet) over medium-high heat.

Add diced onion and sliced garlic. Or, if you prefer, sliced onion and diced garlic. Or, if you are feeling rebellious, chopped onion and minced garlic.

Just some combination of onions and garlic would be peachy.

I talk too much.

Stir them around and get them started cooking…

Then add about a cup of sliced roasted red peppers. Now, I usually have jars of roasted red peppers in my pantry that are not sliced. In that case, I do something that may surprise you.

I slice them myself.

Always innovating here, always innovating!

Stir and cook everything together for 2 to 3 minutes.

Then throw in more spinach than you think makes sense, because it will shrink and wilt like there’s no tomorrow. (I actually added more than this before it was all said and done!)

Stir the spinach a bit, then add a bunch of diced fresh tomatoes (reserving a little of the tomatoes for garnish at the end.) Lower the heat to medium at this point.

(By the way, you could also add artichokes, mushrooms, lots of other yummy things to this sauce!)

Season this delightful mixture with plenty of salt and pepper…

Then, when the spinach has wilted, add some heavy cream…

And grated Parmesan. Tasty vittles!

Stir and let the cream thicken a bit…

Then grab a little softened cream cheese…

And add it in in chunks. Stir until it’s all melted…

Then remove about a cup of the mixture to a separate bowl and let it cool. Turn off the heat under the creamed spinach and set it aside.

Time to cut pouches in chicken breasts if you haven’t already! These are boneless, skinless breasts and I used a little paring knife to cut the pouch. If possible, you want the opening to be a little smaller than the area you cut inside. So once the knife is in there, just carefully move it from one side to the next…

Until you have a little pocket!

Lightly sprinkle the inside of the pouch with salt and pepper, then fill the pouch with the slightly cooled creamed spinach mixture.

Use toothpicks to securely close the pouch (if it’s too full to close, you’ll need to remove a little bit of filling. Don’t ask me how I know this.)

Keep going until you have all the chicken breasts stuffed and secured! Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In another skillet over medium-high heat, melt some butter with olive oil. Add the chicken breasts top/smooth side down (because I just think they look prettier when you cook the top side first)…

Brown them on the first side for 4 minutes, moving them around to ensure even browning. Turn them over…

Then place the skillet in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked through and the filling is hot.

They smell so good!

Warm up the creamed spinach mixture (and this would be a great time to check the seasonings; you want it to be adequately seasoned!) and place a generous amount on a plate.

Add one of the pieces of chicken…

Then use a spoon to retrieve some of the juices/drippings from the chicken pan and drizzle those over the chicken. The combination of the drippings and the creamed spinach is just splendid!

Sprinkle on those reserved diced tomatoes…

Then chiffonade some basil…

And sprinkle it over.

End with some Parmesan shavings. Divine!

Mmmmm. Super good. Look at that filling.

Oh, and here’s a little tip: You can pack up individual portions for a make-ahead dinner!

Enjoy this, friends.

]]>https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/creamy-spinach-and-red-pepper-chicken/feed/098201https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/creamy-spinach-and-red-pepper-chicken/Shrimp and Grits (and Instagram!) by The Pioneer Womanhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pwcooks/~3/oMoUc7Bzwbg/
https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/shrimp-and-grits-and-instagram/#respondMon, 23 Apr 2018 13:43:07 +0000http://thepioneerwoman.com/?post_type=cooking&p=97786I made Shrimp and Grits on a recent episode of my Food Network show, and when I made it again yesterday, I decided to document the process on my Instagram story.

(To access the story, just click on the round “Shrimp and Grits” link or click on my photo if it’s before Monday evening.) I enjoy doing step-by-step recipes on Instagram, because it’s captured in the moment and you never know what can happen. (You’ll see a cameo by Paige, who stirred the grits for me, and by Henry, who was just standing next to me and waiting for me to drop something.)

To make the Shrimp and Grits, here are the basic steps (which you’ll see in living color on Instagram):

1. Make cheese grits. Set them aside.
2. Saute shrimp in cajun spice and butter. Remove from the pan.
3. To the same skillet add chopped bacon, onion, red bell pepper, and jalapeno. Cook on high heat.
4. Add tomato paste and cook for a couple of minutes longer.
5. Add hot sauce.
6. Add broth to make it saucy and cook until thick.
7. Add the shrimp back in.
8. Serve the sauce shrimp over the cheese grits and sprinkle with green onion!

It is divine and so easy. The printable recipe is below!

My prediction: You’ll kinda love it.

Happy Monday, friends!

]]>https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/shrimp-and-grits-and-instagram/feed/097786https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/shrimp-and-grits-and-instagram/Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells by The Pioneer Womanhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pwcooks/~3/2Dz8Kl98-CU/
https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/chicken-alfredo-stuffed-shells/#respondMon, 12 Mar 2018 15:40:44 +0000http://thepioneerwoman.com/?post_type=cooking&p=97301I love chicken Alfredo. I love stuffed shells. Ergo, I love Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells! That doesn’t mean I’m good at math or logic—it simply means I’m good at eating. This is a tremendously delicious baked pasta dish, and if you have all the ingredients at the ready, it’s really not hard to pull together! It’s also a great casserole to assemble ahead of time and keep in the fridge until it’s time to bake.

And it’s nice and rich, so it serves a good-sized family if you add in a salad.

Let’s make it together, friends!

Here’s the Cast of Characters. And if you could imagine MILK in that list, I would greatly appreciate it seeing as how I’m an airhead and forgot to add it.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then drizzle olive oil on a grill pan or skillet. Grill the chicken on both sides over medium heat until totally done in the middle.

Shred the chicken with two forks…

Until it’s totally shredded!

In another bowl, combine ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, and Parmesan.

Add grated mozzarella (and this is the supermarket stuff, not the fresh stuff)…

Two eggs (even though you only see one…)

Salt and pepper…

And minced parsley!

Next, add the shredded chicken…

And a little cream to make it stirrable…

And smush/stir it all together until it’s combined.

Now it’s time to make the Alfredo: Melt butter in a skillet and sprinkle over some flour.

Whisk it together and let it cook…

Until it turns a deep golden brown. This’ll take about 2 to 3 minutes!

Combine milk and cream and pour it in, whisking constantly.

Cook it until it bubbles up and thickens, 2 or 3 minutes.

Add some minced garlic…

Salt and pepper…

And plenty o’ Parmesan.

Stir until the cheese is melted!

Chop some basil and add it along with a little more parsley. Taste it and add more salt and pepper as needed. It should be nice and thick and miraculous. If it’s a little too thick, splash in a little more milk. If it isn’t thick enough, let it cook a bit longer.

Spread a little sauce in the bottom of a baking dish.

Use a spoon to fill each cooked shell really full with the chicken/ricotta mixture…

And place them face down in the pan with the sauce.

Then—you got it!—pour the sauce all over the top of the shells.

Top with more mozzarella…

More Parmesan…

Then bake it for about 25 minutes at 375 degrees! It needs to be golden on top and bubbling around the edges.

Sprinkle a little more parsley and basil on top…

And serve it up, 2 or 3 shells per serving!

I served it with salad greens, halved cherry tomatoes, and balsamic glaze.

And the girl was happy.

]]>https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/chicken-alfredo-stuffed-shells/feed/097301https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/chicken-alfredo-stuffed-shells/Rosemary Garlic Fried Potatoes by The Pioneer Womanhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pwcooks/~3/pRahfRVhIf4/
https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/rosemary-garlic-fried-potatoes/#respondMon, 12 Feb 2018 12:32:16 +0000http://thepioneerwoman.com/?post_type=cooking&p=96823Sometimes you just need to throw potatoes in a pot and fry them. You just do. But in all my experience with frying potatoes through the years, I’ve found that simply throwing them (however violently) into a pot of oil when they’re raw just will never result in that magical, crispy wonderfulness that potatoes are meant to have. The best approach, I’ve found, is to cook the potatoes (whether by boiling or roasting) before frying them. The result is crispy, awesome potatoes every time!

Make these the next time you’re serving up steaks, burgers, pork chops…or anything! And I wouldn’t put it past myself to serve these with a salad. (But maybe that’s just me.)

The Cast of Characters. This is a complicated one, folks! Ha. Potatoes, rosemary, garlic, and vegetable oil for frying. Done!

Start by scrubbing the potatoes clean and cutting them into chunks. If they’re larger potatoes, cut them in half lengthwise, then make a couple of cuts in the opposite direction. If they’re smaller, just cut them in fourths.

At the same time, slice the garlic cloves as thin as you can! I used about 10 small cloves.

This is about 3 1/2 pounds of potatoes, but use as many (or as few) as you need.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, then carefully add the potatoes. Boil them until they’re tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Then drain them…

And pour them onto a sheet pan in a single layer.

This will allow them to get totally dry; you don’t want any water on the potatoes when you put them in the oil!

A note about the tenderness of the potatoes: How much you cook/boil them depends on how “neat” and tidy (or unruly and jagged) the potatoes stay when you fry them. I made a batch earlier this week when I was filming my Food Network show, and I stopped boiling them when they were just barely tender; the skins had not started to loosen, and the potatoes still looked pretty much the way they did when I dropped them into the water to cook.

This time, I decided to take it a little farther and cook the potatoes until they were really tender and falling apart. (I’ll tell you the difference in frying a little later in this post, but just wanted you to know you have options depending on what you’re looking for!)

Heat a pot of oil (put it on the back burner if you have little kiddoes in the house!) to about 350-360 degrees. Use a slotted spatula or spoon to carefully lower some of the potatoes in the oil. You’ll have to work in batches, depending on the size of your pot. (It took me about 5 batches of frying in the size pot I had.)

Cook them for about 3 to 4 minutes, then check the potatoes and make sure they are starting to get golden and crisp…

Then drop in a few garlic slices and a sprig of rosemary (I use a spatula just to make sure I don’t get splashed with hot demon oil.

About the garlic and rosemary: Basically, you’re going to drop in a fresh batch of garlic and rosemary toward the end of each batch of potatoes. This doesn’t so much infuse the cooking oil with the flavors (though I think it certainly does a bit) as much as it fries the garlic and rosemary for the finished dish. (Plus it just looks pretty!)

Fry the potatoes, garlic, and rosemary for another minute or so, and when the potatoes are super golden and crisp, remove them all to a paper towel lined sheet pan. (Be sure to really fish out the little slices of garlic so you don’t wind up with burned garlic later.)

Immediately sprinkle the potatoes generously with kosher salt to make sure the salt sticks!

Then just keep frying in batches…

Draining and sprinkling with salt…

Until you have a big, beautiful pan of potatoes! I set the pan on the stovetop next to the pot of oil just to make sure they stay warm.

You can strip the leaves off the rosemary (they’ll basically crumble off pretty easily) and let them be part of the potatoes, and/or you can lay the fried springs on top for serving.

So the difference between how soft you get them during boiling can be seen right here. The other day when I only boiled the potatoes until they were barely tender, the chunks stayed together and each piece of potato was totally discernible from the next. Here, you can see that pieces of potato skin, little rough pieces of potato, are all over the place. It’s my personal preference, but you can do whatever your heart tells you to do.